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Roughly 14 million people were unemployed in October, yet the
U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2% over the summer, and
overall hiring was weak, according to a Federal Reserve
survey--Beige
Book--released on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

The trend of slow to moderate pace of the economy is barely
enough to keep the unemployment rate, which has been hovering
above 9% for the past year or so, from reaching double digit.

Expert say in order to have a meaningful impact on the employment
situation, the economy needs to grow at twice of the current
rate. However, the increasing likelihood of a global recession
partly from the
raging debt crisis in Europe would certainly pose a serious
threat to the already struggling growth and
bleak employment outlook.

These days, a college degree and years of experience do not
necessary mean a good job like they used to, and competition is
fierce for the few available openings. Coping with this New
Normal, job seekers are reaching into unconventional and creative
avenues to gain a competitive edge in the job jungle. And
social media are increasingly becoming the new job fair for
people to network, get new job leads or to promote and showcase
resumes.

Indeed,
Linkedin is the new hangout for corporate as well as agency
headhunters, and many corporations have Twitter accounts and Facebook pages. The infographic below, based on
a recent survey by Jobvite finds some interesting statistics
regarding using social media for job search. For example,

1 in 6 workers use social media to get hired

Almost 90% of job seekers have a profile on a social media
site

54% of all job hunters use Facebook, Twitter or Linkedin to
find jobs

50% of job seekers used Facebook, 25% used Twitter, and 36%
used Linkedin to look for a job in the last 12 months

18.4 million Americans say Facebook got them their current
jobs. The numbers for Twitter and Linked in are 10.2
million and 8 million respectively

Of course, this does not mean social media will completely
replace the good old want-ad (virtual pr paper) searching and
applying, but rather as something to add to the job searching
tool bag. Even for the gainfully employed, social media
provides an open and easy way to network, being sociably cool and
keep you updated on the new technology and social trend.

So it is beneficial for anybody, regardless if you are looking
for a job, to be on at least one of the major social media site
(Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin). After all, social
media mobilized Arab Spring, and in today's modern world, one
either embraces the new wave, or gets left behind.